Mitchells & Butlers - gamekeepers turned poachers?

Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), which today announced half year sales up nearly three per cent and operating profits up 4.4 per cent to £143m, is keen to get its hands on the 250-plus pub restaurants which Whitbread has earmarked for disposal.

M&B chief executive Tim Clarke maintained a familiar line, arguing the group was not in the business of overpaying for assets.

"We will evaluate [the pubs] and the value they can offer," he said.

Acquisitions should be judged by the profits generated after M&B had gone through the process of converting them to the group's brands, he said.

However he said M&B was confident it could extract 70 per cent extra out of Whitbread's pubs if it were to buy them and as it tightened up on costs.

Highlighting the group's margins, which were seeing "big gains" thanks to improved buying terms, Mr Clarke denied suppliers were being "squeezed".

"In food, whether it's with Argentinean steak suppliers, Europe salad producers or UK rib suppliers, we work in partnership with them," he said.

The average price for a meal sold across M&B's estate was £6, Mr Clarke said, noting the group had sold 80m meals in the last year, up from 15m a decade ago.

M&B's full time staff sold 120 meals per week, he added.

"We are a value and volume retailer. Growth opportunities exist throughout the estate. It's a win/win situation," Mr Clarke concluded.